


Harmony of Naught But Ours

by wine_dark_seashells



Series: The Tiny Characters of Tolkien [1]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Boys Being Boys, Fluff, Gay, M/M, honestly i really like working out the stories of undeveloped characters sm, i guess, it's gay because Tolkien would probably hate it lol, time to get obsessed with two background characters who never appear anywhere else again!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28955787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wine_dark_seashells/pseuds/wine_dark_seashells
Summary: I recently acquired a copy of Tolkien's Unfinished Tales and decided to write little things for all of the background characters I could reasonably say were canon. This week the tale is The Coming of Tuor to Gondolin and the characters are Gelmir and Arminas, the two elves who guide Tuor to the Gate of the Noldor. Honestly just super fluffy 'cause I wanted to make it gay.
Relationships: Gelmir (Unfinished Tales)/Arminas (Unfinished Tales)
Series: The Tiny Characters of Tolkien [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2123829





	Harmony of Naught But Ours

**Author's Note:**

> All the words in italics are Sindarin (I don't really work with Quenya lol) and all the definitions are at the end. You don't really need to know because they're all petnames but they're there anyways.
> 
> Let me know if you have any other minor characters you'd like me to write about!

Arminas took great delight every morning in rising before the sun and listening to its blooming song. Most elves did. The song was what made them, after all. If one listened hard enough and long enough it was almost possible to untangle every gleaming thread, to separate it into the ageless voices of the Ainur and Valar. 

Once you had heard it properly untangled, no recreation of worldly hands could possibly do it justice.

It was one of Arminas’s greatest dreams, to add his voice to the song. But alas, it always seemed a little too different. The pitch slid and quavered; here too high and there too low, and the notes never seemed to match up quite right to the creases of the rhythm.  _ Oh well, _ Arminas told himself.  _ At least Gelmir never minds your ungainly attempts. _

Gelmir, Arminas’s greatest companion. He had listened and laughed along to many of Arminas’s efforts to sing in harmony. But after the laughter had ceased he never failed to praise Arminas’s voice with a flick of his fair hair. Of all Finarfin’s people, Arminas thought that Gelmir took the most after him, what with his golden tresses and sparkling eyes.

Lost in thought, rocking gently to Iluvatar’s song, Arminas failed to notice his aforementioned companion until the man slung an arm around his waist and with a tug, sent him careening into the frigid waters of the River  _ Ringnen _ .

" _ Gelmir!  _ I  _ just _ got dry!" __

"Whatever could you mean, my dearest?" Gelmir asked, forcing the words out in between peals of laughter. "I don’t think you did a very good job of it."

Arminas scowled. He shifted slightly, then pounced. Gelmir shrieked as Arminas forced him off the sun-warmed rock and over the other side. They landed with a great  _ splash _ , sending fish of all colours into a frenzy. As Gelmir spluttered, Arminas took a hold of his arms - his lack of a shirt made it rather difficult in the slick water - and pulled him under for a very thorough dunking.

Of course, Gelmir immediately fought back, grabbing onto Arminas’s grey tunic and wrestling the man to his chest. From there the tussle progressed onto the grassy bank, where Arminas managed at last to pin Gelmir face down, and, to keep him there, sat on him.

"Are you satisfied,  _ meleth-nin _ ? You’ve gotten me thoroughly soaked, and won a face full of leaves for your trouble." 

"Absolutely not. I won’t be satisfied until you’ve had at least one more good wash!" Gelmir smirked, "You still smell of fish."

Frowning, Arminas flicked the back of his neck. "And whose fault is that? You pushed me off the docks after the fisherfolk had just come in!"

Laughing, Gelmir shook his head. "I did nothing, you clearly slipped!"

Arminas growled. "I have you at my mercy,  _ mir _ . You shouldn’t be bullying me."

Gelmir only laughed harder.

"You’re being really mean to me right now."

In a swift movement, Gelmir flipped him over. Now, with his back to the ground and a very wet elf pressed to his chest, Arminas could only blink. Beaming down at him, Gelmir’s expression portrayed nothing but total sincerity. 

"Whyever would you say such a thing,  _ meleth _ ?"

"Shut up," Arminas grouched.

Leaning closed, Gelmir pressed his lips to Arminas’s ear and hissed:

"Why don’t you  _ make me _ ?"

All Arminas gave him in warning was a sharp nod and a grin, and then he was bucking his hips up, sending Gelmir flying with a sharp twist of his legs, straight back into the frigid water. He sat and laughed as the elf spat out a stream of water and plucked a reed from his long hair. At the unexpected sound, Gelmir glanced up in surprise. His expression softened into one of fondness.

"It is good to hear you laugh again,  _ meleth-nin _ . I’d thought that beautiful sound had been lost to the Grinding Ice, and those awful years."

There was silence for a few minutes, Arminas’s mirth still ringing in the air. Then Gelmir beckoned.

"Come, sit with me,  _ mell _ ."

"What, and get all damp again?" Arminas protested.

"Nay," said Gelmir, pulling himself onto the rock Arminas had claimed earlier. "I’m not exactly wearing much, and your tunic will dry quickly. You’ll be fine."

Mumbling to himself about stubborn headed blacksmiths, Arminas rolled up his leggings and picked his way through the shallowest part of the river. Squeezing the water out of his dark hair as he went, he eyed Gelmir warily. After all, it wasn’t exactly paranoid of him to expect a prank. Especially one that ended in him getting soaked again.

Gelmir rolled his eyes at the man’s caution and offered his arms out for an embrace.

"Come to me,  _ mell _ ."

Arminas relented, settling beside his beloved on the warm stone, settling into his arms. Gelmir pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head and raised a hand to lightly stoke his hair. Arminas could practically feel Gelmir’s happiness blossoming in the Song of Iluvatar, and tucked his head into the blacksmith’s neck, feeling just a little overwhelmed. He wasn’t used to such kind touches, such gentle words. Being raised a warrior in a worried house meant the kindest touches he’d received before Gelmir were the brotherly pats on the back of a job well done. Gentle words simply did not exist when one was exiled.

Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, Arminas tuned back into the world slowly. Gelmir hummed a familiar tune, just a beat behind and an interval too low. They both winced when a particularly out of tune note clashed with the Song, a discordant hiss in the cooling air.

The wind blew softly. The gentle thrum filled the tiny void Gelmir’s notes had caused and peace washed over the two. It was a sort of gentle acceptance, a mildly patronising pat to the head for the discordance. 

Arminas lifted his hand to grasp at a dark leaf fluttering in the breeze. He held it close and traced his eyes over the tiny veins illuminated by the setting sun. Gelmir plucked it gently from his fingers.

"If I had my tools and my forge, I could craft something in this likeness. See the deep rich colour? I’ve worked with gems like it before. They shatter easily, but if mixed with a metal they can be used to create the most gorgeous of sculptures. I would shape the green  _ loewmir _ like the sections of this leaf, then lay  _ mithril _ as the veins. I would gift it to you on a chain,  _ mell _ , but I fear you could never love it as you love the works of Yavanna."

Arminas let his lips curl into a grin. "Maybe not, but I would love it if only because you had gifted it to me."

Gelmir chuckled. Arminas pressed himself closer into the embrace.

"Now, beloved, sit and watch the sunset with me," he said. Gelmir kissed the crown of his head again.

The golden sun flared in one last show of defiance to the silver moon, and bid the stars farewell. The Song of Iluvatar was sweet and soft as the moon rose, for the night was quiet, and it was good.

Together, at peace, Gelmir and Arminas dreamed.

**Author's Note:**

> Translations!
> 
> Ringnen - Coldwater, from ring (cold) and nen (water)  
> Meleth-nin - my love  
> Mir - gem, treasure  
> Meleth - love  
> Mell - dear (affectionate)  
> Loewmir - moss-gem, from loew (moss) and mir (gem)


End file.
